Opposition to interfaith marriage in India puts many couples at risk

Hadiya, right, converted to Islam to marry Shafin Jahan. Their marriage has been the center of a large court case and referred to as “love jihad.” Photo via Twitter

MUMBAI, India (RNS) — When a Muslim man and his wife — born and raised a Hindu — fell in love after meeting online, they knew there would be trouble from their families. She left her home in south India last July and moved to Mumbai to get married, stating in an affidavit that she was converting to Islam.

Over the next few months, she continued to face pressure from her parents and filed a complaint with the local police against her father for threatening to kidnap her. At one point, unknown men even attacked the home of the couple, who, fearing for their safety, do not want their names used in this story.

In December, when the couple was out at a nearby mall, some men — suspected by the husband to be acting at the behest of his in-laws — picked up his wife and drove off with her in a car.